It might have gone unnoticed, having the announcement made on the weekend of the Super Bowl has a way of doing that, but the government has dropped the case against the man by the name of Lance Armstrong. While a controversial decision, the news gave this Blog a huge sense of relief. Not only does this mean, if only for the interim, the 7 full-length DVDs of each of Armstrong's Tour De France wins don't have to be thrown in the trash like so many wide-eyed dreams of innocence. This event also marks a turning point in this Blog's view of PED use in sport, specifically MLB.
This Blog has a long history of hating on PED users in baseball. Whether it was chanting 'STE----ROIDS, STE----ROIDS' at Jose Canseco from the bleachers of Fenway in the spring of 1989, refusing to acknowledge the greatness of one Barry Bonds, or trashing messrs Olney and Kurkjian of ESPN for their insipid support of accused PED users for the Hall Of Fame, there was plenty of hate to go around. The biggest chip on the old shoulder was the nemesis of all Red Sox fans: Roger Clemens. The real crux of the thing? Per Baseball Reference the last three years of his Red Sox career and three years which immediately followed:
Year Team Wins Losses ERA K Cy Young Award
1994 BOS 9 7 2.85 168 N
1995 BOS 10 5 4.18 132 N
1996 BOS 10 13 3.63 257 N
1997 TOR 21 7 2.05 292 Y
1998 TOR 20 6 2.65 271 Y
1999 NYY 14 10 4.60 163 N
Without getting into the emotions involved, safe to say Mr. Simmons spells it out with aplomb here, the Cy Youngs and New York Yankees were enough to make one's head explode and this Blog was no exception. Somehow the love of Armstrong and dropping of the US Case, the many Boston Championships in the past 10 years, and perhaps a dip into the pool of fatherhood, allowed certain facts to finally seep in. Jim Bouton's wonderful book Ball Four, written in 1969 and published in 1970, describes HOFer Whitey Ford's propensity to take almost anything to get an edge. HOFer Mike Schmidt spoke of taking it if it had been available to him at the time. The same Jose Canseco who I heckled and ignored has been proven to be right on everyone from A-Rod to Big Mac. The list continues to grow and grow. I guess this Blog has gotten to a point in his life when he's willing to stop worrying and love the PED users. Bic Mac and Sammy captured the imagination and thrill in the summer of 1998, Barry Bond's mastery of the strike zone was something to behold, heck even the late Ken Caminiti provided a chance for one of the little guys in 1996.
Live and let live, open the Hall of Fame doors, and usher them all in.
Until next time,
The SAHD
No comments:
Post a Comment